Veterans Affairs department approves land for nursing homeNORTH LITTLE ROCK (AP) — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has approved the transfer of 30 acres of land to Arkansas to build a new veterans nursing home in North Little Rock. Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald approved the transfer Tuesday, which will also allow Arkansas to receive a $15.6 million grant to start construction on the facility this summer. The land will officially be transferred to the state after a 90-day congress...

House panel OKs drug testing for benefits billLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansans who apply for certain job-training benefits and other family aid could be required to take a drug test under a bill endorsed by a House committee. The House Committee on Public Health, Welfare and Labor sent the bill to the full House in a voice vote Thursday. It would create a two-year pilot program in which the Department of Workforce Services would be required to question applicants and to refer people deemed as...

Florida man named new economic development chiefLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has selected a Florida official to lead the state's economic development efforts. Hutchinson on Thursday announced he had hired Mike Preston as the new executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. Preston has served as director of government relations for the past several years for Enterprise Florida, that state's official economic development organization. Hutchinson's off...

$220K settlement reached in lawsuit against TexarkanaTEXARKANA (AP) — A $220,000 settlement has been reached in a lawsuit filed by a former Texarkana city clerk against the southwestern Arkansas city and other public officials. The Texarkana Gazette reported that Patti Scott Grey filed the lawsuit regarding her termination by the city's Board of Directors last February. Her firing came amid allegations that she accused city manager Harold Boldt of stealing and inappropriately using her signature...

Proposed Ten Commandments display advances to Senate voteLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A day after it stalled before a legislative panel, an effort to allow a privately funded monument to the Ten Commandments near the Arkansas Capitol advanced to the state Senate on Tuesday for a vote. The Senate State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee endorsed by a voice vote the proposal to let a private group pay for and build a monument to the commandments on the Capitol grounds. The bill by Republican Sen. Jason...

Panel OKs bills banning 're-homing' of adopteesLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Legislation banning the "re-homing" of some adopted children is heading to the Arkansas Senate for a vote, a move prompted by a state lawmaker who gave his adopted daughters to away to a man who later sexually assaulted one of them. The Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed legislation on Tuesday that would make most transfers of adopted children without state oversight felony offenses, punishable by up to five years in prison...

Senate panel backs 'conscience protection' measureLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An effort to prevent Arkansas government from infringing on someone's religious beliefs was revived Tuesday, with a state Senate panel advancing a bill that critics have called a thinly veiled endorsement of discrimination against gays and lesbians. The legislation approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee would ban state and local government from taking action that would burden someone's religious beliefs unless a "compell...

Religious expression bill rejected by House panelLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An Arkansas House committee has again rejected a proposal to support religious expression in a student's coursework or attire. Opponents have said the bill is unnecessary and unconstitutional. The House Education Committee in a voice vote Tuesday did not advance a bill to bar school districts from discriminating against a student or parent on the basis of religion. Republican Rep. Justin Harris of West Fork says his bill is ...

House supports plan to ease prison overcrowdingLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas House has endorsed a key part of Gov. Asa Hutchinson's criminal justice reform plan to help ease overcrowding at county jails. Lawmakers voted 79-5 Tuesday to allow the state to partner with county jails on regional facilities to help clear the backlog of more than 2,600 state inmates at the facilities. It also allows inmates to apply for Medicaid benefits and provides avenues for them to enroll in drug and alco...

Senate OKs allowing concealed guns in courthousesLITTLE ROCK (AP) — County employees and elected officials could carry concealed handguns in a courthouse if a quorum court approves the practice under legislation approved by the Arkansas Senate. The bill approved by the Senate on a 33-1 vote Tuesday would allow concealed handguns by licensees if they're employees or elected officials whose principal place of employment is within the courthouse, the courthouse annex or other building owned, le...

Juvenile life sentence bill advanced from House panelLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas juveniles would no longer face sentences of life without parole under a bill advanced by a House panel on Tuesday. The House Judiciary Committee endorsed the heavily amended bill in a voice vote after the Arkansas Prosecuting Attorneys Association withdrew its opposition. The bill by Rep. Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville, would eliminate the sentence for future offenders who are under the age of 18 when they committed a ...

Senate gives final OK to publicity rights measureLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas lawmakers have given final approval to publicity rights legislation that was prompted by concerns by the family of Razorbacks legend Frank Broyles. The measure approved by the Senate by a 25-3 vote Tuesday and sent to the governor's desk is designed to prevent businesses from using a person's name or likeness to sell goods. The bill was drafted after the family of Broyles, the 90-year-old former University of Arkans...

House panel OKs abortion information regulationsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An Arkansas House committee has advanced a bill to change the type of information a woman receives from a physician before an abortion and to increase the wait time after the consultation. The proposal by Republican Rep. Robin Lundstrum of Springdale would increase the amount of time between the meeting and the procedure from 24 hours to 48 hours. It would also require doctors to discuss alternatives, health risks and the pr...

House panel endorses bill to restart executionsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An Arkansas House committee has supported a plan to help restart executions in the state by allowing different drugs to be used in lethal injections and to shield where those chemicals come from. The House Judiciary Committee sent the bill to the House on a voice vote on Tuesday. It would allow the Department of Correction to either use a barbiturate or a combination of three drugs for executions. The agency would also be ba...

Tax credit for low-income Arkansans rejected by House panelLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A proposed tax credit aimed at helping thousands of low-income residents was rejected by an Arkansas House panel Tuesday, despite complaints from Democrats that the state's poorest had been left out of this year's package of cuts. The bill rejected by the House Revenue and Taxation Committee would have created a state version of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit. About 279,000 Arkansans who receive the federal credit woul...

Appeal notice filed in dismissal of steel company's lawsuitLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A steel company has filed notice that it will appeal the dismissal of its lawsuit against a rival. Attorneys for Nucor Steel filed notice Friday that it will appeal dismissal of the lawsuit seeking to stop construction of a Big River Steel Mill in Osceola. The appeal would be heard by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. U.S. District Judge Leon Holmes ruled Feb. 25 that Nucor's lawsuit seeking to halt construction...

House supports Frank Broyles publicity billLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansans and their families would have more publicity rights under a bill approved by the House Wednesday and backed by relatives of Razorbacks legend Frank Broyles. Lawmakers voted 80-6 to support the legislation that is designed to prevent businesses from using a person's name or likeness to sell goods. The bill was drafted after the family of Broyles, the 90-year-old former University of Arkansas coach and athletic direc...

Teens who escaped juvenile center recaptured by authoritiesMANSFIELD (AP) — Authorities in western Arkansas say two teenagers who escaped the Mansfield Juvenile Treatment Center near the Sebastian and Scott County lines have been recaptured. Sebastian County Sheriff's Lt. Philip Pevehouse says the two boys escaped Tuesday. Pevehouse says the pair was captured without incident about 10 a.m. Wednesday about a half-mile south of the Sebastian and Scott County lines by the Arkansas State Police. The names...

Lawmakers support eliminating reimbursementsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas lawmakers have overwhelmingly supported cutting members' reimbursement expenses so that their pay can more than double. The House voted 90-1 Wednesday to eliminate the more than $14,000 in reimbursements that lawmakers can receive for office expenses. An identical measure cleared the Senate on a 34-0 vote. A final vote on the legislation is expected as soon as Thursday. An independent panel on Monday approved increa...

House panel seeks to outlaw lying to legislatorsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — People who intentionally lie to Arkansas legislators could spend up to a year in jail under a bill endorsed by a House committee. The House Rules Committee voted Wednesday to send the bill to the full House. It would make it a class A misdemeanor to lie while testifying before a legislative committee. Republican Rep. Nate Bell of Mena says the law is common in other states and that such action is also prohibited by the U.S. ...